Operator
by RantingFangirl
Summary: Lovino Vargas didn't have the worst job in the world, but he had to say that it was pretty high up there.


While Lovino Vargas didn't have the worst job in the world, he had to say that it was pretty high up there. He was a 911 telephone operator, and while you would think it would be easy, it really wasn't.

Sure, some days were quiet. Most of the calls he got weren't even emergencies. People asking why the traffic was taking so long, or how some idiot broke another's computer. But other days were teeth gritting, hair clenching, and you could just feel the tears gathering in your eyes. Like when there is an accident, and a child is dead, or a rape, and you just wish that you could freak out and start screaming and crying, but no. You have to stay calm, or it'll just make the situation worse.

And the thing is, he had to deal with that day after day, from seven to three. The only vacation days being national holidays, and even then there was a chance that you would be called into work. It was stressful, and even though Lovino had thought about quitting multiple times, he didn't, the thought of helping people, even if it was just one or two a day, made him stay.

As he pulled into the parking lot, the sky dark and the air smelling like it was about to rain, the large, dull office building looming over like a prison, Lovino knew that if it wasn't for the fact that he was saving lives on occasion, he would've quit a long time ago. Found some other job that wasn't so stressful, so nerve breaking, some other job where he would just be ignorant of everything that was happening around him. All the pain, all the suffering. He liked the nervousness and headaches, though. It made him feel alive and remind him of everything that he could lose.

Lovino stepped into the building, the glass doors shutting behind him with a slam. Coffee in hand, he walked over to the desk and computers where he would spend the next eight hours.

But before he could, something, no someone, stepped in front of him, and if he had not been careful, he would've spilled his coffee all over the two. Looking up, he saw his co-worker, Mathias, standing in front of him.

"Hey, Lovino!"

"What do you want?" he said, one of his eyebrows raising. He didn't particularly like Mathias, but it wasn't like he hated him, either.

"My computer's acting all funky, and I was wondering if you could take a look at it for me."

Of course. Everyone had now thought that he was some time of tech-wizard after he rebooted his computer when it froze. It was common sense, really, and truth to be told, the only thing that Lovino knew about computers was the stuff he learned in public school technology class. He walked pass Mathias, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I don't know, why don't you go get someone else to do it for you? Like, Eduard? You know, because it's his damn job to fix stuff like that."

Behind him, he could hear the complaints and whines as Mathias pouted. It's not like Lovino cared. It really was Eduard's job, being the IT guy and all. It was rude to do something that someone else was supposed to do because that would lower their performance grade. And Lovino would probably mess it up anyways, creating more work for the Estonian in the long run.

Finally sitting down, Lovino logged into his computer, starting the day just like any other, and got to work. As the hours ticked by, the sky eventually cleared up, the sun shining bright with minimal clouds. Nothing important really happened, only a minor car accident, no casualties or injuries, thankfully, and some jackass asking what the hold up was after being stuck in traffic following the car accident, "Come on! I have to go to the grocery store, man!" and Lovino telling the guy to not call when he doesn't have an emergency, wishing he could yell, "No one cares about your milk!"

In fact, the day was fifteen minutes close to being done for him when the phone rang. Already pulling up multiple transfer numbers, he answered the phone with, "911, what's your emergency?" There was labored breathing on the other side, and Lovino began to think the worse. Was the person being chased by a knife-wielding maniac, close to being dead? Or maybe they were running out into their yard, their beloved house and belongings going up in flames, rendering them homeless. What if they're being abused, and finally mustered up the courage to call the police on their long-term abuser? After three years of doing this, Lovino learned to expect everything and to start thinking about the bad stuff first.

"Oh hi," a shaky laugh sounded, the man sounding like he was close to passing out, "You see, this is a kinda funny story. So I was, you listening? Anyways so I was walking down the sidewalk, yeah? And I'm right below a tree when I hear something. I look up, and get this, there's a kitten in the tree! I can't just leave a kitty in a tree, of course, so I start to climb the tree, and it's like, a really tall tree, and when I get to the top, I get the kitten, but the branch below me breaks, and that was my way down, so I'm kinda stuck in the tree."

Lovino just sat there, processing what the man said before slapping his hand over his face, leaning down. He's scared of heights, yet he climbs a tall tree to save a cat? The cat has feet, and if it can get up to the top of the tree then it can get down.

He took a deep breath, "Sir, please calm down," he really wanted to yell at the guy, but that would be breaking protocol, which could significantly damage his work performance. "It's going to be alright."

A shaky laugh, "Oh I assure you, I am perfectly calm. Totally! The calmest someone could be!" It was obvious that the man was freaking out, and even if Lovino tried to calm him down again, the attempt would be fruitless. He seemed like the type of guy to be extremely stubborn when it comes to situations such as this.

So Lovino continued, "May I have your location?"

"I don't know where I am. There's a green house across the street, though."

Great. Usually, the people who called had an exact location or at least somewhat of an inkling of where they were. Other times, they could give a specific landmark that would tell Lovino where to send whatever services were needed.

Lovino pinched the bridge of his nose, "Sir, are there any street signs located in your line of sight?"

There was a ruffle of leaves and a faint meow on the other side. The man was speaking to the cat, stuttering breathlessly to it how everything was going to be fine, which would normally make Lovino want to roll his eyes if it hadn't felt pity for him. Eventually, there was a gasp. Another ruffle. The man started to rattle off the street name, making Lovino scramble for his notebook.

Lovino wrote down the street name, which happened to be five minutes away, and pulled up his computer to send the fire department. All the while, he was telling the man to "please stay on the line, help is coming soon," and to keep calm.

Minutes later, sirens sounded on the other side. Lovino didn't understand why they would bother, as it was just getting some poor idiot and a cat out of a tree. But that wasn't his part to decide, so he just kept his mouth shut and made fun of the firefighters silently.

There was a ruffle of leaves and a quick "Hey, thanks!" before the call ended. Lovino slouched back, sighing as he took a sip of his coffee. As protocol stated, he wasn't allowed to hang up until the person who called did, and after that, he was free to carry on with whatever else he had to do.

This was going to make a great story, though.

* * *

Returning from a lunch break, Lovino sat in his chair, booting up his computer. It had been three weeks after the initial call he got from Antonio, the guy stuck in the tree. Yes, they were now on a name-to-name basis, or somewhat of one, with Antonio having taken calling him Lovi and he calling Antonio "sir", as protocol stated. He didn't really know how the man got his name, and, to be honest, he wasn't really sure why the man managed to get stuck in a tree two or three times a week saving various neighborhood cats, but he did. Even when he was deathly afraid of heights, which he often tried to deny now.

It was a slow day, which wasn't uncommon. Lovino lived in a city where crime was moderate, not like Philadelphia where there was a shooting every day, but it wasn't a small town where crime was rare, either. It was just simply medium, and he rarely got a call reporting a murder or theft, anyways.

Lovino pulled up the CAD system*, the colored code spreading across the screen. It was a good thing that they had computer assistance these days, as he wouldn't know what to do if he had to pull up the numbers of the fire department or the police station from that giant book in one of his desk drawers. Lovino talked to the more senior dispatchers sometimes, and, from what he could tell, the books had been a giant pain in the ass to go through, making the process longer and more stressful.

He sat there, waiting, running through all of the other things that were included in his job, such as transferring information from his notebook to his computer from earlier calls, since he found it easier and quicker to write and then type later. Lovino was just finishing entering the information when the phone started ringing. Lovino sat down his notebook.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Oh hey, Lovino," a familiar voice seemed to become louder the more he spoke, "I thought today was your vacation day!"

Of course, it had to be him. Lovino really should've expected it, the past calls have recently seemed to come in a pattern, and Antonio had always tried to strike up a conversation, to his failure, making the calls that much longer. Lovino was surprised how he hadn't been yelled at by the floor supervisor yet.

"Sir, what's your emergency?" He didn't have time for this.

"I'm stuck in a tree again." Figures, though it always baffled Lovino how the man on the other like had managed to get stuck in a tree every single week and not have learned how to get out.

"Sir, do you know your location?"

"So professional!"

"I'm sorry, sir, may you repeat your location?"

Just like before, just like every single time this happened, a ruffle of leaves as Antonio tried to find the street signs. Most of the time, he was stuck in the residential trees, and with the cookie-cutter houses that infested the entire town with their dull uniformity, it was difficult to locate where he was with relative location. It was easier like this, though, Lovino wouldn't have to remember the street names near the respective landmarks.

Once he finally got Antonio to give him the street name, after asking multiple times and getting frustrated when he wouldn't move fast enough, Lovino made the call to send the fire department.

He wanted to leave Antonio to make the call, it seeming awkward to talk about someone when they're right on the other side, but if he did, his floor supervisor, Kirkland, or jerk, as he not-so-affectionately called him, would be on his ass. Kirkland always had gotten up on everyone when it came to protocol, and would not hesitate to report someone.

Lovino stayed with Antonio, gathering information such as his surroundings and if there was any culprit that he should know about. It wasn't until the sirens started blaring and Antonio hung up that he realized that he never once heard the faint, familiar mew of a cat.

* * *

Lovino pulled into the parking lot of a bright, colorful cafe. Red tulips lined the sidewalk as he walked in the door, a bell jingling to announce his arrival. The cafe was small and wasn't full at the time, but that was fine. Lovino was only here for a quick coffee, so it wasn't like he would be here again.

As he walked up to the counter, already knowing what he wanted, he fished out his wallet and ordered, "Grande blonde roast and a blueberry muffin." Lovino had dinner at his brother's house tonight but particularly didn't want to eat whatever Feliciano's boyfriend was making.

There was a silence. He looked up only to see the green-eyed man at the register gawking at him like he had two heads. Lovino drew his eyebrows together, but before he could say anything, the man said, "Are you Lovino?"

* * *

Before I start the official author's note, I would like to say that I got the prompt for this story from the blog Aphdicksquad on Tumblr. I tried to put the link in here but it was continuously being deleted, so I am so, so very sorry about that. You should really check out their blog, though, it's great!

Yay! I finished Operator. This had actually been in my Grammarly docs for a while, but I never found the time nor inspiration to continue it. So it just sat. It wasn't until I was thinking, "Wow, I really need to update my and Fanfiction blog," that I really got started. So, here it is, and I hope you guys enjoyed! Have a great morning, day, and/or evening!

*The CAD system is computer aided dispatch. Basically let's 911 dispatchers send the emergency services easier. It's also used with taxis.


End file.
